Society 359 / 2011

DIPLOMATIE
KASACHSTAN
Kazakhstan’s National Day
20 Years of Independence
2011 is a landmark year for Kazakhstan. Twenty years ago, on December 16, 1991 President
Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Constitutional Law “On State Independence of the Republic
of Kazakhstan”.
The acclaimed British writer and politician
Jonathan Aitken, the author of
“Nazarbayev and the Making of Kazakhstan”,
describes the young country as a
miracle: “My personal impression is that
Kazakhstan is a miracle. No one knew anything
about your republic just 20 years
ago. But today the whole global community
is talking about your success. Nursultan
Nazarbayev played not a lesser role in the
world history than Churchill in the history
of Britain”.
Is there any other state in the world
that over 20 years, a rather short time period
in terms of historical development,
reached such a level as Kazakhstan did?
The answer is no. The journey this country
made in two decades is tremendous. It
took independent Kazakhstan just 20 years
to achieve international success advocating
inter-ethnic and inter-faith dialogue and
creating a world without nuclear weapons.
The formation of political and economic
systems, the establishment of a unique institution
- Kazakhstan People’s Assembly,
chairmanship in many international organizations
earned the republic significant
political weight and boosted its international
image.
To strengthen its national security, in
the first place, the country focuses on internal
political stability in the society.
“Economy first, politics second” is the basic
principle of Kazakhstani state model’s
development. Its policy centers on mutual
understanding, tolerance and national cohesion,
maintenance of peace and accord
in Kazakhstan, since only this can facilitate
the republic in its successful international
advancement.
***
No! to nuclear weapons
One of the first decisions of the Kazakhstan
President after the republic gained
independence was the closure of the Semipalatinsk
nuclear test site, a move that
was highly appreciated by the entire world
community. The former U.S. Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger said that Kazakhstan
was a country listening to reason and
Celebrating 20 years of
independence in the
capital Astana
called it an example of how people should
live and look to the future with hope.
Heads of state positively view Kazakhstan’s
contribution in the fight for nuclear nonproliferation
and against international terrorism,
religious extremism. The capital of
Kazakhstan - Astana - is the venue for Congresses
of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions and other events aimed at addressing
present global problems.
“Two decades made of many accomplishments
that earlier could not have
been achieved during centuries” - this is
how Kazakhstan’s leader Nursultan
Nazarbayev describes the 20 year period of
independence. In his last state-of-the-nation
address “Let’s build the future together!”
voiced in January 2011, Nazarbayev said:
“We are coming into the twentieth year of
Independence. In December 1991 we opted
for stability and success and went forward,
creating new development programs for
every new stage. We set ambitious goals
and achieved them”.
***
Trinity of languages
At the same time the country has been
implementing a large-scale cultural project
“Trinity of languages”. Its goal is the
knowledge of Kazakh, Russian and English
by the majority of Kazakhstanis. The development
of the Kazakh language is of paramount
importance as it is the state language,
which is being used more
extensively. The Russian language, which is
the language of interethnic communication,
is used officially along with Kazakh.
English should help Kazakhstanis faster integrate
in the international economic and
educational environment.
Kazakhstan can be proud of the 20-
year-long road of independence. Of the
fifteen Soviet republics that once constituted
a great power, the country has grown
into a regional leader, consistently defending
its own interests, guided by the principles
of tolerance and security. Kazakhstan
has gone down in history as the first Asian,
Muslim and former Soviet country that
was elected chairman of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The country that broke shackles of communism
has retained special Kazakh properties.
President Nazarbayev has sought
open economy and society, i.e. precisely
those things which his neighbors stubbornly
refused and which helped him earn
sufficient renown for Kazakhstan in international
organizations, wrote the “Iron Lady”
Margaret Thatcher in the foreword to
Nazarbayev’s book “The Kazakhstan Way”.
Today “Kazakhstan’s way” of development
is being sized up by many states. “Celebration
of the 20th anniversary of independence
is not only a formal event”, - the President
of the Republic of Kazakhstan
believes. – “... Independence is the main asset
of the people. This message must be
brought home to every Kazakhstani”.
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